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The Road to Web designing

Art Illustrations

Do you want to look great?

30 November 2011

Graphic design is one of the most in demand jobs these days. People from all walks of life are sharpening their skills for various graphic design fields in order to get a job. No doubt, this is the type of job that will allow you to express your creativity, to have fun while working and to earn enough money for you and for your love ones. But due to the demand of graphic designers, many people have ventured in the said field and the competition to get a job is getting higher.

Even skilled designers find it stressful to find a job. So to help you, we will give you some tips on how to get graphic design jobs. This might make job hunting less stressful for you.

1. Know yourself.

Before anything else, it is very important for you to know yourself. You will find it hard to get a job if you haven’t tried to dig deeper into your own personality. Know what will motivate you. Know what will inspire you and where you can find it. Know your strengths and weaknesses. By doing that, you can easily turn your weaknesses into strengths. If you are faced with challenges, you will not easily fall down for you have known yourself and you already know what to do to help you get up.

2. Be confident.

Knowing yourself is not enough. You also have to build confidence so that you will have that inner strength to face anything. Having the self-confidence would allow you to harness and upgrade your skills. It will always help you to even discover more about yourself. You will be able to discover new skills that will even make you more qualified for a job.

3. Know your skills.

There are different graphic design jobs and you need to choose in what particular field you are really good at. For sure, you have loved one aspect first before you have learned the other fields in design. There would always be a field of specialization for every designer. Know what it is so that you will know the kind of job you want.

4. Develop your skills.

After knowing your skills, you need to develop it. Do not just be contented that you have learned how to do something. Always be open for more learning. Know more of a particular skill until you are really good at it. After that, try to look for other skills and develop it, too.

5. Have a great portfolio.

You would need a portfolio that could show your works. An employer would ask this from you whether you are applying a job online or offline. As a designer, you need to have both online and printed portfolio. This way, you wouldn’t find it hard to showcase your works whenever someone asks for. Also, a portfolio can even help you get a job. Someone might see it and be impressed with your works. Who knows, they might want to hire you for a job.

6. Have a killer resume.

A portfolio would need a resume to support it. Your resume tells more about what you have done and who you are. Your backgrounds will be seen in your resume and it can even tell what kind of person you are. You will need this to get a job for your prospect employer will surely ask for it.

7. Check out job boards.

Job boards are websites that have various jobs you can choose from. Try to check websitesthat offer this kind of service. Choose the job wherein you are qualified and where you are confident that you can surely perform the requirements of the employer. You will find many opportunities in job boards.

8. Try blogging.

While waiting to get a job, you can spend your time blogging about your field of interest. It is not a short term manner to get a job but it is a long term answer to your job seeking problem. Share your expertise in the blog. For sure, people who read it will be impressed and might even come to you for some graphic design advices. Some of them will even ask for you to work for them. Others will recommend you to clients, too.

9. Place your name in the classifieds.

Although, only few people opt to use these, you may still try it. You will lose nothing if you try your luck in classifieds. Employers might find you here and who knows, you might get the job you want through this.

10.Join forums.

There are different graphic design forums online. Although it doesn’t directly give you a job, it is also a manner of sharing your expertise. Answer questions and share your ideas on a particular topic. This way, you will be known as a great designer.

11. Use social network sites.

Social networking sites can also help you. There are even pages and accounts where they show some jobs that you can apply for. Also, make sure to have a good online reputation so that whenever employers look for your name online, you will have a good impression to them.

12. Check websites for jobs.

There are many websites that help you find graphic design jobs. We will give you five of the best websites which could help you get a job.

Coroflot

One of the best website where you can find a job. It hosts so many graphic design portfolios and has several job listings. You won’t find it hard to look for a job here for their jobs are well-organized in different categories.View Site

Authentic Jobs

In Authentic Jobs, you will not only find jobs that are certainly authentic, but you will also find new jobs every week for they always update the jobs for both full –time and part-time.View Site

design:related

A great list of jobs for designers will be found here. With the variety of design jobs here, you can certainly find something that will suit your experience and qualifications.View Site

AIGA Design Jobs

Large and respected companies trust this website to get experienced designers for them. You will find amazing jobs here that you will surely like.View Site

Simply Hired

You will find design job listings from many websites here. You can easily find a job through its filter options.View Site

While looking for a job, make sure that it matches your skills and creativity so that you can perform well when you get hired. Also, bear in mind that there are more challenges when you are chosen for an interview. You have to do well in interviews both online and offline so that you can get the job. But do not forget that what really matters is your job performance once you get hired. If you have other tips to add, feel free to add it here.

25 November 2011

Professionals always make sure that their offices, their uniforms and even their actions look professional. Even the manner of speaking needs to sound professional in order to communicate well with people in the industry. This goes to show that everything should exude professionalism in order to be successful in whatever field one wants to make a name in. It is also important in order to have high sales and to get the attention and trust of the people.

Websites are also part of the business. Hence, it is also important for the website to look professional. Online reputation is important these days because most people rely on the internet. Even business can succeed through the internet. So, we will enumerate thebenefits of having a professional website so that you can have a better understanding on its importance.

1. Gain more trust.

Trust is important especially if your website intends to sell some products, offer some services or just showcase some works. If you have a professional website, you will easily get the trust of the people. They won’t hesitate to buy your products using their credit cards or any form of payment. If you are showcasing your works or you are posting stuff in a particular niche, you can also gain trust from your readers. Because of that, you can be assured that your readers will stay with you.

2. Better search engine ranking and visibility.

This is made possible especially that you will be featured in different galleries in the web. Since more people have seen it through links, it will increase your visibility online. More people will know the website that you will constantly come up in search engines. Your ranking will also increase especially if you have great posts and ideas for topics that interest your target audience.

3. Exceptional design gives more revenue.

Design is very important. Once it is exceptionally done, it will attract more people and increase traffic for the website. You will even earn more from it. That is why many people really hire great web designers and web masters to create their site in order to ensure that they will really earn from it. Remember that it is in the norms of the society to look at attractive things and get to love them, too.

4. It gives a great first impression.

It is said that first impressions last. One look at your professional looking website and the viewers will surely have that good impression. They wouldn’t think that your website is cheap and poorly made.

5. Your site is showcased in other websites.

Since your site is known as a professional website, it will be featured in various sites that collect a roundup of great websites. For sure, many people will see your site being featured and would visit it to know why you were featured. This will help to increase traffic for you are already well known in the web. Also, other people will even consider your site as one of their models in creating one for them.

6. Design will be consistent for years.

Since, it is effective, your design will be used for a long time and you wouldn’t need to redo it for years. This lessens your time to update it and fix some parts of it. You will just focus on other important things like traffic and sales. You will really have more earnings for your site will be up all the time. Another advantage is that the people will already love your site and since they had been viewing it and patronizing it for a long time, they will still be with you when the time comes that you will change your design.

7. Showcase is more effective.

Whatever is the purpose of your website, it will surely be able to deliver it well. With just one look, the people will immediately know what you are trying to show them or sell to them. They can immediately understand it even if you do not have huge texts telling them what it is. If it is designed professionally, it will not only impress the users but it will also make it easy for them to navigate their website. Navigation is important because if it is hard, the user might immediately leave the site.

8. Allows you to challenge your competitions.

If your competitions will see how great you are doing, they will certainly be challenged. But of course, you were already on top of the line. The only thing that you have to do is to maintain that spot. You merely have to continue and improve what you had been doing before. As a popular website, you have to do some things to remain popular. But your competitions are just starting to make a name. They still have a long way to go while you have finished travelling on that path.

9. Do not look cheap.

Of course, once a website is professional, it won’t look cheap for the people. No one would want their website to look cheap. It will surely work better if you have established a good name online for having a professional website. People won’t think that your site was just made by some kid or by someone who just have nothing to do. It will manifest that you really have worked hard for it and invested for it.

10. Gives a quick access for clients.

Since websites are easier to access, it can also make it easier for clients to contact you. They could easily send you emails using contact forms and they can also see what you can do, what you have done and what you offer them. You don’t have to speak a lot in order to get them because once they contact you, you actually got them already. This is also a good venue for feedbacks, testimonials and others.

There are really great advantages in having a professional website. No wonder most people really opt have one due to the advantages it can give you. We would like to know what you think. Do you have other ideas on what are the benefits of a professional website aside from what were mentioned? We look forward for your thoughts on this.

20 November 2011

After you made your resume and portfolio, for sure there are already clients who hired you to work for them. But that is not enough. You need to create a kick-ass design proposal to amaze your clients. A good proposal is the best selling tool for you.

Well, if you think being a graphic designer only needs creativity to succeed, you are wrong. There is still more to that and that includes making a well-written design proposal for the clients. So, if you are not aware on how to effectively make a proposal, we will help you. We have here a guide to aid you in making a proposal that can give you a guaranteed design job.

1. Meet your client.

The first thing that you need to do is to sit and talk with your client. When you meet your client, be sure to be professional and friendly in approaching them. You also need to know beforehand the things that you need to ask them so that by the time you create your design proposal, you already have everything there.

2. Do some research.

Your proposal will be more effective if you will have a thorough research. Know everything that you need like the background of the company, the needs of the client, the requirements of the project, the target audience and the competition of your client. This way, you will be able to create a proposal with maximum impact.

3. Know your target audience.

Look into the target audience. You can even ask some people about what they think. It is like you are conducting a survey. This way, your client will even be more impressed to know that you are really concerned about the success of the project. Also, you will be able to create an effective output. State what kind of people will be targeted including their gender, age group or others. If the project is seasonal, you still have to know who would be targeted. List down the type of person that could show who your entire audience are.

4. Make an impressive executive summary.

An executive summary is a brief overview of the project. Most clients directly read this part. It is up to your presentation on how your client will be guided through the entire proposal. Do not make this part too long. One or two pages will do. Well, three or four paragraphs will even be more effective. You have to include the important points in the design. You should also be able to show your client that you understood the project, their company, their industry and other vital aspects. In a brief manner, you should be able to convince your client that you really know what they want for the project.

5. State the current situation.

You should state what the recent circumstances around the project are. If there is an existing project, try to look into it and determine the aspects that need to be changed. You also need to know the current situation of the company and how a certain project has affected them. Like if you were asked to re-do a web design, you have to know what happened during the time when they used the existing website. Then, from there, you can do some changes. List down both positive and negatives things.

6. Discern the project goals.

You would go nowhere without this. It would seem like you are driving a car without knowing the destination. Hence, you have to know what the client wants to achieve with the project. You have to make sure that your thoughts are the same with what the client wants which makes them have the impression that you totally understand the project.

7. Know the competition.

As you conducted a research, you have known the competition. From that, determine where the competitors are good at and know where their Achilles’ heel is. This way, you will be able to know how to make the proposal wherein it can outshine those of the competitors.

8. Have a creative strategy.

This is the part where you will feel like you are a superhero who came to rescue their company and put it in a pedestal. You have to tell your clients the strategies that you have in order to meet the project goals, impress the target audience and shoo away the competitors. Give the reasons behind why you plan to do this and that. If there are technical requirements, explain all of them. But as you strategize, stick to the budget and the schedule

9. Explain the project methodology.

Now it is time to explain the process you need to do in order to create the project. Show the task in detail and explain how you will handle it from start to finish. It is important for the client to know the process so that they won’t doubt the length of time in creating it and the fee that you’ll be charging.

10. State the project budget.

You’ll surely need to tell your client how much the project costs. In order to make it clear, divide it into sections and write a corresponding amount for each section. This way, your charge will be justified.

11. Give a project schedule.

Let your clients know the timeline of the project. You can also include the terms of payment here. It would be good if you place a certain billing amount in every part of the schedule. In creating the schedule, always have a time to breathe. Maximize the schedule to make sure that you’ll be able to finish it before the client’s deadline.

12. Tell them about the resources.

Tell the client about your workforce. Explain to them how credible your team is. This would contribute to giving value to your proposal. You also have to tell the client the things you would need and you would use for the project. This is good so that they will have that full confidence in you.

13. Give your contact details.

Do not forget to give your contact details to your client. Also, give not just one method to contact you. Give them a variety of choices to reach you. Your mobile number, office number, email address and even office address would be enough so that the client won’t have any doubts. They will find it easy to contact you anytime regarding the proposal and the project.

14. Showcase your work first.

When you meet your client, you can let them know first how good you are as a designer. Show them your works so that they will know what you are capable of. Doing this will also let you gain trust and confidence from the client knowing that you can really deliver the demands of their project.

15. Make a follow-up.

After impressing your client with your great design proposal, you can make a follow-up call or e-mail. For sure, if you really did well during the presentation and you made an excellent proposal, you will get the job.

It’s Your Turn Now

A well-thought design proposal will guarantee you a job if you partner it with the right attitude and professionalism. But make sure that after you make your proposal, you will create a well designed cover and table of contents. Have it coil-bound along with the cover and backing. For sure, if you’ll come out that ready, your client will be impressed and you can expect “yes” as an answer. Now, it is your turn to share something to us. What do you think about the article? Are there some important tips that you would like to share to our readers in order for them to ace a job through their design proposals?